Fantasia: Live in Tokyo - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Description
Asia, featuring members of Yes, ELP and King Crimson, was the first supergroup of the eighties. Their eponymous debut album, released in 1982, was a huge success racking up global sales in excess of 15 million copies. In 2006 the original four members reunited for the first time in over 20 years for a series of concerts in the US and the UK. The success of this tour led to a full-blown world tour running throughout 2007 in celebration of their 25th anniversary. This DVD was recorded in Tokyo in March 2007 on the Japanese leg of the tour.

Tracklisting: 1) Time Again 2) Wildest Dreams 3) One Step Closer 4) Roundabout 5) Without You 6) Cutting It Fine 7) Steve Howe Guitar Solo 8) Fanfare For The Common Man 9) The Smile Has Left Your Eyes 10) Don't Cry 11) Court Of The Crimson King 12) Here Comes The Feeling 13) Video Killed The Radio Star 14) The Heat Goes On / Carl Palmer Drum Solo 15) Only Time Will Tell 16) Sole Survivor 17) Ride Easy 18) Heat Of The Moment

BONUS FEATURES: 40 Minute Interview with all 4 band members.

Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Essential for any fan of the original Asia line-up October 18, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

This DVD is the Asia fan's dream come true. An outstanding music DVD (filmed in Tokyo) which features the 4 original members (John Wetton, Steve Howe, Geoffrey Downes, and Carl Palmer), accompanied by excellent sound quality and camera work. The camera focusses on the band members playing and does not dart back and forth from the audience to the band members. What a relief! This DVD marks the 25th anniversary of the 1st Asia album, which came out in 1982.

The songset consists of 18 pieces:

1. Time Again
2. Wildest Dreams
3. One Step Closer
4. Roundabout
5. Without You
6. Cutting It Fine
7. Intersection Blues - Steve's Solo
8. Fanfare for the Common Man
9. The Smile has Left Your Eyes
10. Don't Cry
11. In the Court of the Crimson King
12. Here comes the Feeling
13. Video Killed the Radio Star
14. The Heat Goes On -- Drum Solo
15. Only Time Will Tell
16. Ride Easy
17. Heat of the Moment
Bonus Feature: Interviews with Asia

This DVD features most of their most well-known songs (Heat of the Moment, Only Time will Tell, Sole Survivor, Don't Cry, The Smile has Left Your Eyes), as well as some samplings from King Crimson (In the Court of the Crimson King) and Yes (Roundabout). I was especially surprised how well John Wetton sang "Roundabout" -- his full-bodied singing was outstanding and was a great re-endition of the Yes classic.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary, Asia sang the rare song "Ride Easy", which did not appear on any album but was the flip-side for the cassette of "Heat of the Moment" single (in 1982). This song was the favorite song of John Wetton in all of the Asia repertoire.

Steve Howe seemed to be really enjoying his playing, especially the solo piece "Intersection Blues". In other concerts, he was usually dour, but on this one he seemed like he was having fun. The only drawback in this DVD is that the sound does not quite pick up Howe's electric guitar, especially on songs like "Only Time Will Tell".

Most of the songs stick very closely to the studio versions, except for "Don't Cry" which is done acoustically. One of the best features in this DVD is the extensive interview of all the 4 original band members. Each member talked about his musical background, the bands they played in, how they got together to form Asia, and what Asia meant to them after 25 years. It was such a close and personal interview. It's so great to have these 4 outstanding musicians team up again after so many years.

If you're an Asia fan, run and buy this DVD! You'll be impressed! It is absolutely essential for your music DVD collection. The music and sound quality far surpasses all the other Asia DVDs - especially the Asia collection (which had very poor sound quality for the Moscow concert -- see my review for that DVD).

5 out of 5 stars

David J Heward is an idiot! August 31, 2007
8 out of 16 found this review helpful

Any person who reviews a DVD before it is released is a complete fool. Any future reviews from this derelict should be ignored. The 5 star review is given for the purpose of canceling the previous unfair review.

5 out of 5 stars

Great Energy October 21, 2007
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

I thought the DVD was well produced. The songs sounded good. Main highlights as always for me are Steve Howe. The texture he gives the Asia material makes it what it is.

Also, Carl Palmer is just phenomenal. Drum solo and his stage show is just sensational. I had a chance of seeing them in Glenside PA at the Keswick theater last year and it was just great. They all greeted the fans after the show.

I think they are not in this for the long haul but I've heard reports from John Wetton when he was interviewed recently following his triple heart Bypass that they are currently writing songs for the new album. Yes Is scheduled for touring in 2008, so I believe the other members of Asia will definitly come together from time and time to play. New material will help, but Wetton reminded those in the interview that it was in the recording sessions that the band began to have problems before, so hopefully with lessons learned in the past, things will go harmoniously this time.

3 out of 5 stars

Live, but not very lively. January 8, 2008
7 out of 13 found this review helpful

I know I'm in the minority here, but I was actually less than thrilled when I heard that the original Asia lineup was reforming. I had become a big fan of the later Asia albums with John Payne on vocals, and while I understand the reason$ behind the reunion, it was still disappointing to see the Payne era come to an end with little or no mention by Geoff Downes or anyone else of the great music that Asia lineup created over the past 15 years. Still, I must confess I was curious to see what a reunited original Asia lineup would be like after so many years. I didn't catch them on their reunion tour, so the Fantasia: Live in Tokyo DVD was the next best thing.

The Main Program - The DVD is a fairly straightforward concert performance video that was shot before a large audience in Japan. The band served up about a dozen classic Asia tracks as well as versions of songs from each member's pre-Asia career. The execution of the old Asia tracks was flawless, if a bit cold. These guys are all masters of their respective crafts, so they can probably perform these songs in their sleep. Unfortunately there were times that I wondered if the band was doing exactly that! I know we're talking about older musicians here, but a little more energy would have been nice. They didn't look like they were having any fun, and barely did anything to work the crowd. A live performance, especially one recorded for a DVD release should be a special occasion, and this one falls a bit short.

I wasn't crazy about the non-Asia material either. It's a neat enough idea I suppose, but given the choice between hearing an original Asia song or a cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star", I'll take the former any day. And as much as I love "Roundabout" or "Fanfare for the Common Man", that's not why I bought an Asia DVD.

The Special Features - Aside from some interview footage, there really wasn't much in terms of bonus content on this DVD. If the main program was more impressive, the lack of bonus content probably wouldn't have been noticed.

The Verdict - If you're a serious Asia fan, you're going to want this DVD. There's really no getting around it. Unfortunately it's just not as exciting a reunion performance as I was expecting. I had much more fun seeing Asia with John Payne at a club in Virginia just prior to the release of Silent Nation than I would have at this concert.

5 out of 5 stars

Essential viewing for all serious music fans October 5, 2007
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

This one arrived upon my doorstep today and I just finished watching all of it, including the lengthy interviews. These are four gracious British gentlemen with some of the best musical pedigree in the business. Not one minute is wasted in the entire set list. I also highly recommend this DVD over the CD version, so that one can appreciate what is being played. For instance, that is not a true acoustic guitar that Steve plays in the opening of Roundabout.

Having been a fan of Asia throughout their entire history, I thought that Geoff Downes was the founding member, since he is the only one of these four who appears on all Asia releases. Well, the interviews dispell this myth along with a few others. He was actually the last to join this lineup.

When I first saw this 25th anniversary lineup announced, my cynical and jaded self figured that it was nothing but a dirty rotten money making scheme from record company execs. Wrong!!!! Having seen the interviews and the interaction on stage, there is a lot of mutual respect for each other and they all realize that the chemistry was just right in 1982 when their debut album was released. They can now look back on what went right and plan for their next new release. Yes, this does not appear to be a one-shot reunion for nostalgia and monetary purposes. Hopefully, they won't try to repeat what they did 25 years ago, because this can never be done again.

Looking forward to the new songs!!!

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